


sheltering the boy i knew (from all the hell i put him through)

by Brentinator, stars_aligning



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), WandaVision (TV)
Genre: Agent Jimmy Woo, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Burns, Concussions, Darcy Lewis Is a Good Bro, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fever, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Peter Parker is a Mess, Protective Peter Parker, Scientist Wrangler Darcy Lewis, Wanda Maximoff Needs a Hug, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 05:14:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29771193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brentinator/pseuds/Brentinator, https://archiveofourown.org/users/stars_aligning/pseuds/stars_aligning
Summary: "You made her really upset," Jimmy pointed out, but Darcy knew that. She just swallowed before turning back to Jimmy."Let's go get Spider-Man."•••Takes place around episode 5 of WandaVision, but post Spider-Man: Far From Home. Pretty much is irrelevant after episode 5
Relationships: Darcy Lewis & Jimmy Woo, Darcy Lewis & Monica Rambeau, Darcy Lewis & Peter Parker, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Monica Rambeau & Jimmy Woo, Peter Parker & Jimmy Woo, Wanda Maximoff & Peter Parker
Comments: 26
Kudos: 134





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, episode five aired, and I REALLY wanted to write a crossover between WandaVision and Spider-Man, and my bestie stars-aligning sent me this request, so thank you for suggesting it AND editing it!
> 
> And now, on with the story!

"If she can change things as they go into the Hex, what happens if we send something in that requires no change?"

Darcy heard the question, but as she was starting to think of ideas, the conversation between and Director Hayward during the briefing came to mind.

_'She used her powers against the Avengers, is that correct?'_

_'Right, before she earned their trust and became one herself.'_

"I have an idea, but it's risky," Darcy perked up, gaining both Jimmy and Monica's attention. "Have either of you been in contact with Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross?"

"Director Hayward has since we found out Wanda was involved. Why?" Jimmy questioned as the gears continued to turn in her head.

"Because he already has an Avenger in custody, one who was around during the fight in Germany. If we can bring him here, maybe he can talk Wanda out of it," Darcy explained while going over to the computer in the evidence room and pulling up the footage pulled from the phone that was now public information before turning the monitor toward the pair.

"He's a felon, Darcy. A murderer, in fact," Monica protested as soon as her eyes shifted from confusion to anger. "Why do you think he would even want to help?"

"Because I don't think we got the full story, and besides, who else are we going to ask? Tony Stark is dead, Captain America is dead, Black Widow is dead, Hawkeye is retired and no one has seen Hulk and Thor since everything happened. I'm not going to demand names from a grieving wife, so unless Jimmy has been in contact with his buddy Scott Lang recently, this is our only shot."

Monica groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose, clearly angered and annoyed before finally looking up at the two of them. "I'm going to go find drones from the 80's. You two can carry out this stupid plan." And with that, she walked out.

"You made her really upset," Jimmy pointed out, but Darcy knew that. She just swallowed before turning back to Jimmy.

"Let's go get Spider-Man."

•••

"Who are you, again?" The guard demanded with a raised eyebrow, and the expression was really starting to make Darcy mad, especially with the way he was looking at them like they were children.

"I'm Agent Jimmy Woo, and she's Dr. Darcy Lewis," Jimmy explained before lowering his voice. "Just tell Secretary Ross to come out here."

"And why should I tell him to come out here and talk to a FBI agent and a scientist about letting out a terrorist?"

"Okay, Mister," Darcy spoke as she stepped forward, looked him dead in the eyes, and poked at his chest. "You're gonna get your boss, and in return, I won't tell him how rude you were being to a woman who clearly outranks you. Sexism doesn't look good on a resumé." She had to keep her expression neutral as the man got up and walked out of sight, scowling.

"Good job," Jimmy spoke softly, obviously not wanting to make her mad as well. "I'm impressed."

Before Darcy could respond, however, the guard was back and ushering them inside the offices, stopping at one with a nameplate outside that said 'Secretary of State' on it. "Secretary Ross will be with you in a minute," the guard told the two before he disappeared behind the hall.

Darcy only had one train of thought going through her head once she heard the footsteps behind her. 'Please let this work.'

"Hello, Agent Woo. Nice to see you again." Darcy watched the older man move toward Jimmy as the two engaged in a handshake before he made eye contact with her. "And you must be Dr. Lewis." He extended his hand toward her and she shook it, feeling just how cold but firm his grip was. "You scared my guard pretty well, but I'm sure you two had something more important to talk to me about."

Darcy waited until the man was fully sitting before she explained everything: Wanda taking Vision's body, turning an entire town into a sitcom, launching Monica into the sky after she infiltrated the Hex and finally ending with her plan to get an Avenger that Wanda knows, and who had gone through a similar experience, to talk her out of it.

"So you need help contacting an Avenger? Then why are you here and not speaking to Nick Fury?" Ross questioned, and she could see the look of confusion but also concern in his eyes all masked by his coldness.

"Not exactly." Jimmy spoke softly, clearing his throat before speaking louder. "We were hoping you would release Spider-Man into our custody temporarily."

"You do realize that it killed someone and nearly destroyed London, correct? It's a terrorist and a murderer."

"With all due respect, Secretary Ross, Wanda will destroy New Jersey if we don't act fast." Jimmy cut in, which was probably better for their chances as Darcy was trying to stay calm so this would work. "It's only while we try and reason with Wanda, and we will bring him back as soon as we're done."

Darcy watched as Ross pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned in frustration before looking at both of them. "Fine, but we're doing this on my terms."

"Which are?" Darcy tried to keep the annoyance out of her voice as she watched Ross smile a tiny bit.

"Once you relieve New Jersey of Maximoff, you bring her and Spider-Man back here."

"She's processing trauma, sir, I don't think she's even aware of what she's doing." Darcy tried to reason with the older man, but he just shook his head.

"Dr. Lewis, I think you're smart enough to know that she, as you told me, purposely launched Captain Rambeau out of Westview. Not to mention took an entire town hostage and stole the corpse of the Vision out of SWORD headquarters." He stood up and walked towards the door. "You can take Spider-Man to reason with Maximoff and then bring them both back here. It'll be safer for them and the world that way. That's my only offer. So," he offered his hand to Darcy, "do we have a deal?"

She took a deep breath, trying to steady her emotions before looking Ross directly in the eyes and gripped his hand a little tighter then she usually would. "Yes, sir, I believe we do."

"Fabulous." He broke into a grin. "I have to get some things in order, but I will take you to Spider-Man. Pleasure doing business with you again, Agent Woo." He headed toward the door before turning to Darcy. "Same for you, Dr. Lewis." Then, as he disappeared down the hall leaving the two of them in the office, Darcy grabbed Jimmy's arm and whispered.

"We can't bring him back."

•••

His foot wouldn't stop tapping against the ground.

He had been in here for around three weeks, and his foot wouldn't stop tapping the ground.

_"Spider-Man's real name is Peter Parker!"_

_Upon hearing Beck's voice come on the giant billboard TV screen, he immediately jumped off the large post he was sitting on and took off running. Below him, the hundreds - if not, thousands - of New Yorkers' broke out into murmurs and hushed whispers as they looked to him running to escape. Behind him, he briefly heard Michelle's scream of "Peter!" and wondered if he should go back to get her, to bring her somewhere safe and away from the crowd, but ultimately decided against it._

_'She'd be safer without me," he thought to himself._

_He knew that, out of the six of them, out of Ned, MJ, May, Happy, Morgan, and Pepper, he was the one that was in the most amount of danger. No one would hurt them or kill them. It was him they wanted. Cops would be scouring the city for him, people would be reporting his every move and every place he visited, everything he did. Everyone he was with._

_'God,' he thought. MJ was literally the last person he was with and people were probably bombarding her with questions right about now; and, in the middle of it all, he'd just abandoned her while he ran like a coward, like Flash always said he was. He was an idiot and a coward for not making sure MJ was safe - for putting his life first and hers second._

_But he couldn't turn back, turn around now. If he wanted to keep everyone safe, he had to keep running._

_He ran for a week; hiding in alleyways and crashing on couches. He had five hundred dollars in his pocket when he left, courtesy of extra savings for Europe, and he knew these people could get in trouble for harboring a fugitive, but he had to get away from New York._

_By the time he crossed into Rhode Island, he did something absolutely stupid._

_He relaxed._

_He successfully blended into the homeless population, just another person down on their luck. But, with a seventy-five thousand dollar reward out for his arrest, for turning in a supposed murderer, he shouldn't have been surprised by the fact that someone ratted him out._

_The next thing he knew, he was dragged out of one of the tents and tased, the volts of electricity coursing through his veins and forcing him to the ground face-first. The cold voice of the man with the taser rang in his head, and he could still feel the harsh scraping of the handcuffs as they were shoved and locked around his wrists._

_"Peter Parker, you're under arrest for terrorism, first-degree murder, and evading arrest. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney and if you cannot afford one, one will be provided…"_

So, that's what he did. Remained silent.

But walking on the walls and ceilings got boring after awhile, and he wasn't interested in the few trashy romance novels they allowed him to have, so now he was sitting on the bed, looking down at his hands while his foot kept tapping on the floor with one thought in his mind.

' _God, I hope May is okay.'_ She had no idea where he was, was probably incredibly worried about him, and Peter hated to think of-

"Parker!"

...Everything he had put her through.

Secretary Ross' gruff voice broke him out of his thoughts and a slight buzz that meant the code to unlock the door had been activated went off before the door opened and a man and a woman stepped through - the man wearing an FBI jacket and the woman wearing glasses, a bright blue beanie, and looking around in wonder. "You've got visitors," Ross then spoke before the door slammed shut behind the two guests.

The two made it over to just outside his cell, with the only thing separating them being the heavy metal, barred doors.

"I have a feeling you two aren't my lawyers." Peter swallowed as he stood up, the itchy blue material of the Raft uniform brushing against his skin as he looked at the pair.

"No. I'm actually Dr. Darcy Lewis and this is my coworker, Agent Jimmy Woo," the woman introduced the two of them and Peter nodded, knowing he heard about the man before. "We understand that you worked with Wanda Maximoff at the battle of the Avengers' compound?"

"Kind of...? Why? What's this about?" Peter questioned, curiously.

"We need your help. Wanda Maximoff has stolen the Vision's corpse and is living in a sitcom-esc world with it. She has seemingly taken an entire town in New Jersey hostage to live in this sitcom and now she has twins. Since we've seen the footage and we know you fought with Wanda against Thanos, we were hoping to recruit you so you could try and snap her out of it."

Peter nodded, even though he was still trying to process what the woman said. "Only one problem, though: I barely know her. I was fighting with Mr. Stark and she was fighting with Captain America, so she could just, you know... blast me."

"We're hoping she recognizes you long enough to snap out of it." Agent Woo spoke softly, much calmer than Dr. Lewis. "And we know that you have experience with people who can create illusions and manipulate reality, since you helped Quentin Beck take down the Elementals. So, are you in?"

"Yeah." Peter nodded. "I'm in. What do you need me to do?"

•••

"...and then if everything goes successfully, Wanda will come with us and we can take her in for questioning," Agent Woo finished explaining, just as they arrived back to the base outside of Westview. The van door then slid open and, as Darcy stepped out, Jimmy took a minute to unlock the teenager's handcuffs. "As soon as this is done, though," he instructed, "we gotta put them back on, okay, kid?"

Peter nodded, and watched the man tuck the key back in his pocket, before he stepped out of the van and followed him outside to the field. There, at the very beginning of it, at the very bottom of the hill, stood about fifty or so SWORD agents, Director Hayward, Captain Monica Rambeau, and... and Wanda.

Wanda, with about a thousand lasered guns pointed at her.

Shit.

"You have to understand us, Wanda!" Director Hayward shouted and, as Peter was led closer, he could make out more of what the director was saying. "The missile was just a precaution. I mean, you can hardly blame us, with what you've done."

Wanda tilted her head, and Peter could tell she meant trouble. "With what I've done?" She asked, bitterly, as her jaw tightened and a red cloud circled, starting to form in her palm. "What about what you've done? Sending one of your agents-" At this, Wanda glared at Captain Rambeau pointedly, but kept her eyes on Director Hayward. "-in after me and sending a missile after my family when I sent her back? Was that your plan?"

"Wanda." Captain Rambeau spoke up as she marched forward, unafraid of the Avenger. "Please, you have to-"

"Oh, I don't have to do anything," Wanda whispered, her voice sickeningly sweet. She turned her whole focus to Captain Rambeau and the cloud in her hand started getting stronger and glowed a bright red. "And I cannot _believe_ that you are still here..."

Seeing as this was the only chance they were gonna get, Darcy lightly shoved the teenager forward and Peter took the opportunity to run forward and join the crowd, stopping just several feet ahead of Wanda but a few steps to the side of Director Hayward.

"Wanda, wait!" he called out and saw a brief flicker of recognition in her eyes as she turned her gaze towards him. "I... It's Peter, okay? Spider-Man! We fought together against Thanos and fought each other in Germany a few years ago, and I know stuff sucks now, but you don't want to do this. You don't mean to do this and if you just come with us now, we can help you," he pleaded, seeing the psionic energy she held in her hands dim momentarily.

Unfortunately, Peter's words held little to no impact, though, as Wanda's powers came back stronger and she turned back to Hayward. "This," she seethed, her eyes glowing an angry red, "will be your last warning. Stay out of my home."

Peter watched as Wanda let go of the red, fiery blast, aiming it right towards Director Hayward, and the world seemed to move in slow motion. One second he was standing just a few feet before Wanda and the next he was running, listening to the buzzing feeling in the back of his head until he screamed "Move!" and shoved the man to the ground, the full force of the blast hitting him.

The last thing he heard before he blacked out was the sound of someone screaming.


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as Wanda realized she had hurt Peter, regret hit her hard in the gut. Now that she was a mother herself, the sight of someone so young who had been hurt by what she did had a whole new effect on her. What if that had been Tommy, or Billy, who she hit?

 _'What if that was Pietro?'_ her mind had asked her. She'd hit Peter with that blast, just like Pietro had been hit with bullets, and he had saved Director Hayward, just like Pietro had saved Clint so many years ago.

The scene was all too familiar to her.

Slowly stepping forward, she watched the shallow rise and fall of his chest and let out a small gasp upon seeing the smoke that came up from his body. Beside her, the power in her hands diminished completely and the smell of burning flesh filled the air as the guns were aimed back at her. She didn't care, though. Instead, she blinked back tears of shock and stood still, her stare unmoving as two people, a man in an FBI uniform and a woman with glasses, ran towards the boy, the man kneeling beside him and waving his arms to call medics over while the woman screamed and tried to feel for a pulse.

"Stand down, Wanda! Stand down!" A woman shouted, most likely Geraldine, or Monica. Whatever her name was.

"Look at what you're doing, Wanda!" The man shouted, the one she was aiming for, and she finally looked away from Peter ( _'Pietro,'_ her mind supplied) and back to him. "You're hurting people. You've stolen a corpse, taken an entire town hostage, and now you've hurt a child! How much longer is this going to go on?! How many more people have to be mind controlled, hurt, even killed?! How selfish do you have to be?!"

Wanda stopped dead in her tracks and froze. She was doing this for Vision, for her boys, for everyone. If anything, she was being selfless, risking everything she had for them. Couldn't they see that?

With a huff, she turned around, walking back to the barrier and pried it open, ignoring the screams and protests behind her, yelling for her to come back, yelling for her to fix this. She would not allow herself to be ridiculed for helping her family. With that thought in mind, she crossed the barrier back into Westview and made sure to close, to seal, the opening behind her, before she continued making her way back to her home; back to her family, who would be there for her.

 _'I know what I'm doing is right,'_ she thought to herself. _'They just don't understand how alone I was and how empty I felt. I'm doing this for my family, no one else. And now one else will get in my way. But that poor boy...'_

She didn't want to hurt anyone, especially someone who didn't deserve it. Someone who once again just ended up on the wrong side of things. But that was exactly what she did, and couldn't help but think of it. _'What if he's dead? What if I killed him?'_

_'Just like I killed all those people in Lagos...'_

She ran over to one of the trash cans and barely managed to hover over it before she puked. The images flooded back to her mind of the fact that his body was smoking and he was struggling to breathe.

The same feeling she got when she killed the innocent civilians in Lagos hit her. The regret, the guilt, the terror and panic she felt at being declared a monster, at seeing not only her name, but also the body count flash across the TV screens... everything flooded back, and it hit her all at once.

She coughed a few more times before standing up and recomposing herself. Vision and the boys couldn't see her like this. She had to be strong for them.

She finished the walk back to the house, trying to keep her mind as clear as possible, and opened the door, seeing the absolute mess that was the living room. "What happened in here?" She asked, shutting the door behind her as Billy and Tommy popped up from behind the couch.

"We were trying to fold the laundry for you." Tommy smiled at her.

"But then the laundry war started," Billy finished.

"Okay, I'll handle this." She spoke calmly, picking up one of Vision's dress shirts off the floor and setting it on the couch, smoothing out the wrinkles with her hands. "You boys go clean your room, we'll have dinner in a bit."

She smiled, watching them disappear up the stairs before she got to work on folding the clothing normally, having decided to give her powers a break for a few hours. It was as if she was acting on autopilot, though, arranging the laundry with her hands moving on their own, because as she sorted out the clothes, all she could think was _'What have I done?'_

  
•••

Darcy tapped her fingers against her arm as she stood beside Jimmy and Director Hayward, trying to calm herself down. The scene rushed through her head again and again.

_"Wanda!" Monica shouted as she took a few steps ahead. Raising her arms slightly, she commanded the rest of their agents to lower their weapons, trying to settle the situation before it grew too intense. "Stand down, Wanda! Stand down!"_

_Having raced to Peter just moments ago, as soon as the blast hit him, Darcy stayed on her knees beside him and, instead, hovered her hands over his body, not knowing what to touch or if she could touch him at all, for fear of causing him more pain, even in his unconscious state. Across her, Jimmy lay on his knees, waving his arms and calling people over because "Medics! We need medics here now!" and while Darcy was happy that at least one of them knew what to do, her mind was still yelling at her, still screaming at her to do something, because smoke was still steaming from Peter’s body and what was the point of being there if she couldn't even offer anything?_

_Formulating a plan in her head and deciding not to let her emotions show, if only so Hayward wouldn't throw her off the base for getting personally involved in a situation like this, Darcy decided it was best to leave the burning skin on the on the superhero's torso alone ('the medics can deal with that,' she thought to herself), and, instead, started to search for a pulse. That...was the most important thing, wasn't it? Because if Peter didn't have a pulse, that would mean there was something wrong with his heart, and something being wrong with his heart meant there would be something wrong with his breathing, and Peter didn't look like he was..._

_'Oh,’ Darcy thought. ‘Oh, no...'_

_Her hands trembling, Darcy placed her index and middle finger against the side of Peter's neck and forced herself to stay still as she checked for a pulse. Around her, she saw the medics racing towards them from the corner of her eye and could hear Jimmy's voice instructing them on what to do, but she closed her eyes and forced herself to tune the sounds out. Peter was what was important now. He was...what, sixteen, seventeen? Definitely no less than less than fifteen for sure, and he was so young. He had so much life left to live in him._

_Upon finally feeling a pulse (a weak one, but one that was there nevertheless), Darcy let out a breath or relief and rose to her feet. "He's...He's got a pulse," she told the medics as they ushered her away and, instead, flashed a light in the boy's eyes and snipped away at his burnt clothing. "It— It’s weak, but it's there, and...and it could be a sign of cardiac arrest, so you have to..."_

_Feeling someone's hand on her shoulder, Darcy let herself be dragged away from the scene, but still couldn't keep her mind off of it and couldn't drag her eyes from it as well. 'All that smoke...' she thought to herself. If Wanda had hit Hayward..._

_"Hey," the person walking her away from the scene said, and Darcy realized soon enough that it was Jimmy. "Don't focus on that now. The medics are tending to him, and he's gonna be okay, alright?"_

And that was how Darcy found herself now; standing with Jimmy and Hayward inside the small medical bay that SWORD had set up at their base. The same one Monica had found herself in when she left Westview, just a week or two prior.

Still finding her mind racing from the events that had just taken place a little over two hours ago, Darcy focused on the tip-tapping of her fingers against her elbow. _'Breathe,’_ she told herself. Her fingers tapping against her arm had been her one constant since Peter was blasted, and she needed something to help her escape from the tick-tocking of the clock. _'You found a pulse, he's being taken care of.'_

At that moment, though, it seemed time had finally granted Darcy's wish of not having to wait anymore, as the EMT who had treated Monica a week ago finally came up to the three with a tablet in their hands.

"Well?" Hayward asked, gruffly.

"You three are lucky," the EMT replied and Darcy released a breath of relief. "You, especially, sir," they said to Hayward specifically, before turning their attention back to the group. "If any one of you had taken that blast, you would've died. Luckily, Peter is going to live, but he does have a severe, inflamed burn on his chest that spans down to his stomach. On top of that, I'm also concerned about his fever and a possible concussion, but the fever should break with rest and fluids, and the concussion will be dealt with once he wakes up."

"And that's everything?" Jimmy chimed in.

"Everything except for the oxygen mask, but that's just a precaution because of the smoke he inhaled. Otherwise, he's fine."

"Alright. Thank you for the update, Andrews." Director Hayward nodded at the EMT, who walked back toward Peter, before Hayward turned to Jimmy and Darcy and looked them in the eyes. "Once Mr. Parker wakes up, I'm calling Secretary Ross. Peter wasn't able to help us, so he's going back to The Raft."

"But you can't do that!" Darcy protested, growing increasingly angry at the man. Peter was just a kid! He didn't deserve any of the disrespect he was getting, and she knew that things would only get worse if he went back to the Raft. Besides, he just saved Hayward's life; that had to count for something, right?

"Actually," Director Hayward spoke back, snarkily, "I believe I can, Dr. Lewis; and I believe that sending Mr. Parker back to the Raft was one of the conditions you two agreed to when you spoke with Secretary Ross, was it not?"

Sensing things were getting intense, Jimmy stepped in, but that didn't mean Darcy still didn't feel like yelling at their superior. "With all due respect, Director," Jimmy said, possibly saving Darcy from losing her job, "maybe we could work something out."

Hayward nodded in response, and the two had then walked away, with Jimmy giving her a reassuring smile as they left. Taking a deep breath to settle her nerves a little bit, Darcy had then ran a hand over her face, before she made her way to Peter's medical room and sat down beside the boy, giving his left, IV free hand a gentle squeeze.

Despite his condition, and the fact that bandages were peeking out from under his hospital gown, his eyes were closed and he almost seemed... peaceful.

"I'm sorry for dragging you into this." She spoke in a way that she could barely hear herself, so she highly doubted that he could hear her. "You've been through a lot already, and I just added onto it... I'm sorry, again. And I don't apologize often."

Hearing footsteps behind her, Darcy had then looked up to see Jimmy approaching her and gave him a sad smile. "What'd he say?" she asked, mentally preparing herself for the worst.

"We have a week, maybe a week and a half, max. Hayward's giving us till Peter's healed because he'll "hopefully have Wanda in custody by then" and can ship them both back to the Raft," Jimmy explained and, despite him keeping his cool during this entire job, she could definitely hear the anger in his voice. "We have to find a loophole to keep him out of there, and we have to do it as soon as possible. I don't want to send him back to that place, even like this."

Darcy nodded, starting to think. There had to be something they could do! Some sort of loophole to get Peter home with his family. That's when it clicked.

"Wait! When's Peter's birthday?" she asked, hurriedly.

"Uh... it was just a few weeks ago," Jimmy replied. "August tenth. He should be seventeen now."

"Seventeen?" Darcy repeated.

"Seventeen," Jimmy confirmed. "Why?"

"Because," Darcy said, excitedly, "Peter's seventeen and he hasn't had his trial yet, let alone a sentencing."

"...Which means he can't be held for longer than twenty-four hours under New York law," Jimmy finished, smiling in relief. "And the Raft is in New York."

"So we can work something out with Ross, and get him to let Peter go in exchange for not ratting him out to his superiors."

"I'm gonna call him now," Jimmy insisted, as he took his phone out of his pocket. "If he can't be held anymore, then I'm gonna see if I can get him under house arrest, like Scott. He'll still be in trouble, but at least then he'll be back with his aunt."

Seeing Jimmy had left, Darcy turned back to Peter, who was still unconscious, and gave his hand another hopeful squeeze. "We're gonna get you back home, Peter," she told him. "We're gonna get you back to your family."


	3. Chapter 3

Peter could have been woken up by a lot of things. He could have been woken up by the bright light above his medical bed, the beeping of the heart monitor beside his medical bed, the light hiss of the oxygen mask on his face, or even his aunt's voice. But, what he didn't expect to be woken up by was the tight restraint that was clenched around his left ankle.

Well, that, and the sound of Director Hayward yelling at Doctor Lewis and Agent Woo from outside his room.

"Are you two out of your damn minds?!" Peter heard and, in response, he shifted uncomfortably on his bed. Even though the two had asked him to come to the SWORD base so he could talk Wanda down, he still didn't like that they were getting in trouble because of him.

Doctor Lewis spoke next and Peter remembered her voice from when she spoke to him outside his cell in the Raft. "We were just trying to right a wrong, Director Hayward," she said, her voice steady. However, it seemed as if Hayward didn't even want to listen to what she had to say, as he cut her off as soon as she spoke.

"By blackmailing a government official?!" The man raised his voice.

"With all due respect, Director, New York law specifically states that a minor can't be held in custody for more than twelve hours until after their sentencing. Peter's seventeen, which means he's still considered a minor, and he hasn't even had his trial yet; and he's been held in the Raft for three weeks. It's not fair to him." He heard Agent Woo explain. But, with zero context and a probable concussion, Peter was scrambling to try and figure out what the three were talking about.

"Well," Director Hayward snapped, "since you feel so strongly about this topic, Agent Woo, then you can join Captain Rambeau and Dr. Lewis in being suspended for a week from any SWORD operations."

"But—” Dr. Lewis tried to cut in.

"And, since you two dragged Mr. Parker into this mess, without having him sign a physical contract, that means SWORD can be held legally liable for any action he decides to take against us. So, you two can spend the duration of your suspension keeping him company with Captain Rambeau while he rests in our med bay. And, if you two ever pull some shit like this again, I can personally assure you that you will never work in another high ranking position like this one. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," the two SWORD members said in unison.

"Good." The sound of Director Hayward's footsteps retreating reached his ears, and Peter immediately felt the guilt hit him. Both Agent Woo and Dr. Lewis seemed really nice, and he didn't mean to get any of them in trouble.

 _'I still would've saved Hayward though,'_ he thought to himself, _'if I had the chance to go back.'_ If he hadn't and he'd let Hayward get hurt, he'd probably be even more upset with them.

Seeing as the conversation had ended and that there was no one who'd be coming into his room for the time being, Peter decided to turn his attention to the next pressing issue; the restraint on his ankle. He wasn't the type to sit still for long periods of time, and he wanted out of this bed _now_.

Placing both his hands beside him, Peter pushed himself up and slipped the oxygen mask up and over his head. Then, once he had set it beside him, he had thrown the blankets off his body and tugged at the restraint harshly with his right hand, while using his left to hold his burning chest. Despite how much he pulled, though, the restraint wouldn't break, with his super strength or not.

"Come on!" He groaned, starting to get frustrated. "Why won't you break?"

"Because it's vibranium, courtesy of Wakanda." A voice startled him, and Peter nearly jumped out of his skin before he looked up and saw Captain Monica Rambeau standing at the entrance of the room, with an IV bag in her hands. "And, even if you do break it, you'll probably set an alarm off and get gunned down." She walked over and sat in the empty chair beside his bed, before setting the IV bag on the foldable table nearby and pushing a button the remote that was hanging off the bed's handle to elevate the cot he was on. "You're already indirectly in hot water with Hayward, so I wouldn't push it. It's for the best."

Peter nodded and relaxed against the bed, stopping abruptly to where she adjusted it into a forty-five degree angle, so his head and chest were slightly raised. Then, he asked the question he was dreading. "Are Agent Woo and Dr. Lewis mad at me? Are you mad at me?"

Monica's eyes softened and she shook her head. "Not at all," she replied, leaning forward with her hands clasped together and her elbows resting on her knees. "The only people they're upset with are Hayward and Secretary Ross, though it's more so Ross than anyone else. We know you were just trying to do some good. And Hayward's a pain in the ass, so let's just say I'd much rather spend my suspension around you than him."

Peter chuckled when she did, but it was more of a formality than him thinking her comment was funny. "Did they get Wanda out to negotiate?" he asked, hopefully.

Having started to hang up the recently-developed IV bag of pain meds on to the pole as soon as she finished her sentence, Monica stopped and paused when she heard the question. Briefly, Peter turned around and met her eyes, a look of regret and longing in them. "No," she spoke, though Peter already knew that from the expression in her eyes. "No, Peter, they didn't."

Peter nodded as Monica sat across from him again and sprayed some cold spray on his left hand this time, before inserting the IV needle and connecting it to the syringe attached to the bag hanging above them. A feeling of failure lingered at the back of his consciousness, threatening to take over and overwhelm him, but the sense of sleep, that was probably caused by the IV Monica had just inserted, was stronger; and, now that he thought about it, the burning in his chest had subsided as well.

_"Normal medication doesn't work with your metabolism, " he remembered Tony saying, when he was in the compound's med bay one night, after breaking his leg on patrol. "Unfortunately, the guy's gone missing, but luckily, he always has some stored away somewhere."_

_Peter nodded, the familiar sensation of sleep getting the better of him. "Thanks, Mr. S’ark,” he mumbled._

_Tony gave a curt nod, and pulled the blankets up and over the boy he thought of as a son. "Go to sleep," he replied, "and I'll see you in the morning. Your aunt's supposed to be here at ten a.m."_

"Where did you guys get my pain meds?" Peter questioned. Tony had sold the tower seven years ago and moved everything to the compound and cabin, but the cabin was a good three, maybe four, hours away, and the compound was blown up back when they fought Thanos. "I thought Dr. Banner was missing."

"He is," Monica confirmed, as she grabbed the blankets up off the floor and set them back on top of his body. "After you got injured, it was chaos, but one of the EMTs managed to reach Dr. Cho. She's in Seoul right now, but she told us how to synthesize your medication."

Peter nodded, and felt his eyelids droop, as Monica reached over to the side of the bed for the oxygen mask and placed it back over his face. The mask blew a cool, steady stream of air at him, and Peter had to admit that it felt nice.

"Now, get some rest," Monica said from somewhere far away. "You still have a fever and a head injury and you need your sleep, Peter."

And with that, he allowed his eyes to fully close and fell into a deep sleep.

•••

"Stand." Peter flashed a smile as he laid down his two tens, compared to Agent Woo's four and five, officially putting Peter on top, and winning four out of the seven games they had played in the past hour.

"Okay, no more Blackjack for you. From now on, we're playing Go Fish."

"For the record, I am a master at Go Fish." Peter shrugged, handing Agent Woo the cards, and watching as he filed them up and began shuffling. "If you really want to beat me, I'm notoriously bad at Uno."

"How can someone be notoriously bad at Uno?" Dr. Lewis questioned, as she opened the door and handed Jimmy his coffee. Placing the tray of hot drinks down on the table nearby, she had then opened the bag of Subway sandwiches and began handing them out. "It's one of the easier games."

Peter took his oxygen mask off and set it aside while he drank the apple juice Dr. Lewis got him. "See, you'd think that," he replied, "and then you go on a two hour bus ride on a field trip and get creamed." Peter smirked, recounting just how much Ned had beat him on the bus to Oscorp, before he got bitten by that stupid spider just a little after lunch and his day had went to shit.

Not wanting to focus on that, though, he snapped himself out of it. The last thing he needed was to start thinking about how if Ben and May hadn't relented from four days of begging and let him go on that field trip, he wouldn't even be in this mess; so, he distracted himself by focusing on the absence in the room. "Where's Captain Rambeau?" he asked.

At this, Darcy and Jimmy shot each other a concerned look, before Jimmy stood up and bolted away from the med bay and towards the exit. "What is it?" Peter questioned, worriedly. "Is she hurt?"

"No." Dr. Lewis shook her head and set her coffee down. "But she could get hurt. She's been trying to figure out how to get back inside."

"Inside the hex?" Peter asked, and when Dr. Lewis nodded, he threw off the blankets and pulled out his IV, before eying the vibranium restraint. Captain Rambeau had been thrown out of the hex, and Wanda didn't even mean to hit him.

"Peter, no—" Dr. Lewis started, but he cut her off, pleading.

"Dr. Lewis, help me out. Please." _'No one else can get hurt 'cause of me. I need to help Wanda and Captain Rambeau.'_

"Peter, I can't."

"But I got through to her the first time! I can do it again, with more time, if you just let me out!"

"I'm not taking it off, Peter." Darcy refused, but before he could get upset with her, she added: "If they see you walking around, they'll probably shoot you on site. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's probably safer if Monica goes in than if you go out there. She knows what she's doing, and you're already hurt. We can't let you get anymore injured."

 _'If we do,'_ Darcy thought, _'Hayward will have our ass.'_

Peter let out a sigh and felt his shoulders drop. "But I just want to help," he protested.

Darcy couldn't help but feel bad for the boy and feel like she could relate to him. She wanted to help, too— that was the whole reason she took this job, after all (well, that, and she read that Monica would be on it). But the three of them were suspended, tasked with keeping Peter company, and they couldn't risk interfering or endangering themselves or anyone else.

"I know you do," she stated. "But, you're going back home in four days, Peter, and there's nothing you can do; and, as much as I don't like what Monica's doing, she's smart and if anyone's going to find a safe way back inside the hex, it's her."

"Okay." Peter relented, and even though there was still a part of him that wanted to go out and stop what was taking place, he just leaned against the bed and watched Darcy take a cloth to wipe away the blood that came from ripping out his IV. "It just sucks, not being able to do anything. I was brought here to help…" he trailed off, trying to keep his tears at bay with everything crashing down around him. Europe, losing Tony, Beck releasing his identity... "And I can't even do that."

Darcy swallowed and opened her mouth to say something, but seemed to decide against it as she placed a bandaid on his hand, inserted the IV needle into his elbow, and pulled the blankets back on top of his body. "You should get some rest," she said instead, as she slid the oxygen mask back on his face, and Peter immediately felt exhaustion overtake him as he was pumped full of medication. "Jimmy and I will handle the Monica situation."

Peter ended up drifting off really quickly after that.

  
•••

Peter felt both relief and shame as he was put under house arrest and was being driven home. Familiarity and some sense of freedom? Good. Arrested for something he didn't even do? Bad.

"It's not too tight, right?" Agent Woo asked, as he adjusted the ankle monitor on Peter's left foot, which had taken the place of the restraint. "Because it's gonna stay there for twelve months before your case is reviewed, and I can adjust it if you need to."

Peter shook his head, as Dr. Lewis started to parallel park and, soon enough, the van came to a stop. "It's okay," he replied, as he held his hands out and, in response, Jimmy began to take off his handcuffs. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to help you guys with Wanda, though, and I'm sorry I got you and Dr. Lewis in trouble." _'And I'm sorry about Monica,'_ he added in his head. She'd disappeared just before Darcy came back with the Subway sandwiches, and he hadn't seen her since. He had a feeling she went back into the hex again.

"It's okay," Jimmy said, as he tucked the key into his pocket and held on to Peter's elbow, before leading him out of the van. "My biggest goal right now is getting you home, and…" The two stood on the sidewalk leading up to the stairs outside of the apartment building. "...Here we are."

Making their way inside the building and elevator, Peter pushed the button that was simply labelled "3" before asking one of the questions that was lingering on his mind. "You told her, right?" he asked. "About me coming home?"

"Yeah, I told her." Agent Woo nodded as the elevator stopped and let go of Peter's elbow so they could walk over to May's unit. Peter took his time and relished in the little things, like sticking his key in the lock and opening it, and inhaling the smell of Thai food that May must've ordered for his return.

That's when he saw her. She had walked out of the small study, with her hair pulled into a ponytail and glasses perched on her nose, but stopped when she saw them. "Peter!" She gasped, her hands moving to her mouth, and Peter just offered her a small before taking in the embrace of her hug. "Baby, I— Where have you been? I've been looking for you! I can't believe you're finally home."

"Hey, May," he stated, as he buried his nose in her shoulder and took in the scent of her shampoo. She smelled like cinnamon and strawberries, and Peter had to admit that it was a nice change of pace from the smell of medicine and antiseptic. "And I know, I'm so sorry. It's been crazy."

"That's okay." May squeezed him once more before letting go of him, and Peter winced at the too-hard touch. Though the burn he had had been more or less taken care of, his chest and abdomen were still sore and he still had bandages wrapped around it. "Are you okay?" she asked, upon seeing the pinch of pain on his face. "You're not hurt, are you? I was so worried."

Peter opened his mouth to respond, but Jimmy beat him to it. "He's still a little bit injured," the agent spoke up. "Mostly healed now, but there was an accident at the base and he got caught in the crossfire. Peter will have to take it easy for the next few days."

May nodded in understanding, and turned back to her nephew. "Okay... go shave, okay?" she instructed, placing her hands on his shoulders. "I ordered some Thai food and bought some shampoo and body wash, so I wanna see you with wet hair and clean clothes when you come back out here."

"I know." Peter chuckled, taking in the sense of normalcy, before he turned back to Agent Woo. "Can I go get settled in?"

"Yeah." The man nodded. "I just need to discuss the terms of your house arrest with your aunt, and then I'll be on my way."

And with that, Peter practically dashed to his room, but that's when the pang hit him of how he had left it. His stuff was still packed up from The Blip, the light switch was still taped over, and the small post-it note with _'don't turn off the light'_ scrawled on it was still hanging over it; May hadn't touched his room.

He peeled off the loosely-fitting S.W.O.R.D shirt and pants and slid into a pair of sweats and his Midtown sweatshirt, before taking a breath; despite the room having a thick layer of dust on it, from both the trip and then the arrest, it smelled like his room. It smelled like home.

He was home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this! I had a lot of fun writing it!


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